by David Leon Moore, USA TODAY Sports

by David Leon Moore, USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES - If the Los Angeles Lakers can continue to be fueled by the overflowing of emotions and loving memories in the aftermath of the death of their beloved owner, maybe this season won't be a lost cause after all.

After a moving tribute to Dr. Jerry Buss at Staples Center Wednesday night before the Lakers' first game since his death, the Lakers went out and thrashed the team Buss disliked most â?? the Boston Celtics.

Thursday, at a memorial service held across the street from Staples at the Nokia Theatre, the emotion continued to pour out as great Lakers past and present, including coaches Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, player/executive Jerry West, Showtime-era Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson and champions of a later era, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, talked about their relationships and experiences with Buss.

They talked of his friendly touch with common folks, his love of blue jeans, his penchant for staying out late (or all night), his uncommon vision, his sharp intellect and his surprising humility.

They talked of how Buss would like nothing more than for the Lakers to continue to win at the astounding level they did under his ownership.

Buss often said he wanted Los Angeles to by synonymous with the Lakers, and the Lakers synonymous with winning.

And so it was, to an astounding degree. In his nearly 34 years as owner, the Lakers had the best record in the league by far, went to the NBA Finals 16 times and won 10 titles.

Buss died Monday at age 80 amid one of the Lakers' most troubling seasons, a season that was expected to parlay the union of Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash into another Lakers championship.

Instead, the Lakers have struggled to a sub-.500 record and are in danger of missing the playoffs.

They'll wear "JB" patches on their jerseys the rest of the season. But can they summon the kind of effort they showed against the Celtics Wednesday â?? clearly, it seemed, aided by the emotions of the night â?? for the rest of the season?

And can Buss' children, whom he groomed to carry on and keep the Lakers in the family, find the same winning touch he had?

Several speakers addressed the Buss family.

Said Johnson: "Please, Buss family, never sell the Lakers . . . and win more championships."

Buss' oldest son, Johnny, who spoke for the family but has less to do with the Lakers than his brother, Jim, and sister, Jeanie, said the family intends to try.

"It was his desire to continue winning for the city," he said, "and we will fulfill that."

West spoke movingly of the impact Buss had on him personally and of Buss' intellect and vision, and of his ability to put together a winning formula.

"I'm very confident," he said of Buss' children, "they will do what they can to build a championship team."

No one will have a greater impact on what happens the rest of this season than Bryant, who remains the heart and soul of the Lakers in his 17th season.

He said Thursday that when Buss proposed bringing back Jackson for a second stint at coaching the Lakers, he hesitated.

"Dr. Buss said, 'Trust me,'" Bryant said. "I did, and it resulted in two more championships."

Now Bryant will try hard to put symmetry to Buss' legacy. Buss' first team, in Johnson's rookie season, won a title. Buss' last team will have to stage an amazing rally to contend for one.

Bryant called on his teammates to use the inspiration of Buss' memory to inspire their efforts.

"We're playing for something bigger than ourselves and bigger than one season," he said. "We are playing for the memory of a great man."